Mikey for Flip: Enhance Your Audio

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.bluemic.com/mikeyforflip/' target='_blank'>http://www.bluemic.com/mikeyforflip/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Mikey for Flip is the simple way to enhance the sound of your recordings and expand the abilities of your Flip camera. Whether you're recording a sporting event, a rock concert, or a child's first words, the high quality stereo microphones and advanced circuitry inside Mikey will make the soundtrack of your Flip video clips more exciting, enjoyable, and professional. Simply plug the Mikey into your camera's FlipPortTM connector and press record to enjoy the studio-quality sound that Blue Microphones is renowned for."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1285091761.usr1.jpg" style="border: 0;" />&nbsp;<span><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1285091786.usr1.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></span></p><p><span>If you have a Flip camera - which I do - you'll know that the audio quality leaves a bit to be desired. It's OK for most things, but there's certain room for improvement - which is what the Mikey product delivers. It's only compatible with Flip cameras, but if you're looking to give your audio a boost, this might do the trick!</span></p>

[Vincent Ferrari]

Actually, it's only for the new Ultra 2HR model that has the Flip Port on the bottom.

[Jason Dunn]

Actually, it's only for the new Ultra 2HR model that has the Flip Port on the bottom.

Ah, good to know...I wasn't sure if all Flip HD cameras had that. Am I the only one though that feels like Flip has lost their market lead? That new sliding camera seems idiotic to me, and the competition from Panasonic, JVC, etc. seems quite excellent...

[Vincent Ferrari]

Ah, good to know...I wasn't sure if all Flip HD cameras had that. Am I the only one though that feels like Flip has lost their market lead? That new sliding camera seems idiotic to me, and the competition from Panasonic, JVC, etc. seems quite excellent...

The competition is lacking in three areas:

1. The actual hardware design often looks good until you hold one and then you realize it's cheap, plasticky, or just downright crap.

2. The image quality on paper should be the same, but the Flip cams are pretty decent at picking up color even in low light. How they do this, I don't know, but having played with models from Kodak, Sanyo, and Flip, my Flip does much better in mediocre conditions. Lots of comparisons are done in ideal conditions, but reality is rarely ideal and that's where the Flip does pretty well.

3. The big one is ease of use. Flip is seriously limiting in what their camcorders do, but that limiting factor really does make the damn things brain dead simple to use and even the included software (installed on the camera so you just plug the cam into a computer and voila) is dead simple. The fact that the USB connector is built in (no cables to lose) is also a plus.

You get a lot for the money with the Flips. There are "better" options out there, but there aren't any that provide the end to end simplicity that Flip does and that probably accounts for most of their popularity.

[Jason Dunn]

Jeese, Vinny, you should really be reviewing these cameras on this site or something. :D

[Vincent Ferrari]

Churning out a video a day has made me evaluate the hell out of a lot of different cameras!

[Jason Dunn]

Churning out a video a day has made me evaluate the hell out of a lot of different cameras!

That's very true. Have you had a chance to check out the new Panasonic one? I've got my eye on it. The new HP camera looks interesting as well.

[Vincent Ferrari]

That's very true. Have you had a chance to check out the new Panasonic one? I've got my eye on it. The new HP camera looks interesting as well.

They're on my radar, that's for sure. To be honest, the one thing they're lacking (which is the one area where the Sony Bloggie does it for me) is the viewscreen. Without being able to see it while recording, it's almost useless to me (which is why I love my cheapo deluxe Sanyo VPC-CG10).

I'll check 'em out, though. If you need someone to review 'em and you have contacts in either company, I'll happily beat the hell out of 'em for ya :-)